HE HAS BEEN hovering just outside of greatness. Curtis Thompson has been very good, to be sure. He won titles in the NCAA, NACAC and Pan-American Games. He’s certainly the top American javelin thrower, claiming 5 USATF championships.
But globally, the 29-year-old was a little shy of elite. He had never gone beyond 85m (278-10), except for an anomalous 287-9 (87.70) in ’22. No World or Olympic medals.
This season, however, can justly be called his breakout year. Four times Thompson went beyond 85, including a new PR of 287-11 (87.76) at the Texas Relays — placing him No. 3 on the all-time U.S. list behind Breaux Greer and Tom Petranoff — and 286-3 (87.24) at NACAC.
The other two were on the biggest stage of all, the World Championships final in Tokyo. He hit 284-4 (86.67) in round 1 and 279-10 (85.31) in round 3. The first one held up for the bronze. His medal was the first for a U.S. man since Greer claimed bronze at the ’07 Worlds. It was the third ever, with Petranoff’s silver at the inaugural World Champs in ’83 the first.
If the world didn’t know who Curtis Thompson was before 2025, they do now.
Even Thompson himself is still learning about Thompson. At a banquet of enthusiastic fans who traveled to Tokyo with Track & Field News Tours, editor Sieg Lindstrom informed him that his top throw was the longest ever by an American at a Worlds or Olympic Games.
“I didn’t know that!” said Thompson. “That’s exciting, just because we have a lot of great throwers in the U.S.”
On the banquet stage, Thompson described the challenges of the competition itself and his years-long build to reach a global podium.
“Going into the qualifying day felt a whole lot different than that final day,” Thompson said. Qualifying was September 17 and the final was September 18. “I’m not used to throwing back-to-back days like that. So I was a little bit more tired on that bus ride to the warmup stadium. I talked to my coach and my team, and I was like, ‘Hey, y’all, I’m tired. What should we do?’ And we were able to change up some things in the warmups, and make sure we conserved enough energy to be able to be ready to throw.”
The conditions in the Japanese capital were downright oppressive — both days had highs of 91 degrees (33C) with humidity around 70%.
“USATF has done a great job providing us with a nutritionist. We were able to talk with her and see how do we beat the heat, how do we deal with the humidity? She came up with a very good game plan to make sure we had enough electrolytes, snacks and food to make sure that we stay hydrated. There was a point in time during that final where I felt my neck kind of cramp up. That was kind of a sign of, OK, you might be dehydrated, so you need something.
“So I was able to get some electrolytes quick into me so I could be ready for that first throw. They came up with a great game plan and they provide great resources to be able to be successful out there.”
And that first throw was key.
“The first throw is always the one where you’re not thinking at all. Everything is reaction. There’s nothing to correct. So that’s definitely a bonus on having that first throw.”
It was a singular moment capping a long and improbable journey.
“In high school, I was going to be a football player and that’s what I was gonna do. Football was my main sport. But, freshman year, we went and did track & field just to get faster for football. And one day I was like, ‘I don’t want to run anymore. I don’t like this.’
(Big laughs from the audience.)
“So, I walked over to my high school coach and I said, ‘Hey, um, can I throw that stick thing?’ And he said, ‘Well, first off, this is a javelin.’
(Even bigger laughs.)
“I made it to states as a freshman. I was the only freshman in the field. I kind of just fell in love with it and was able to get a scholarship to go to Mississippi State.”
As a prep senior (Memorial, Florence, New Jersey) in ’14, Thompson headed the HS list, for a second straight year, with 224-10 (68.53).
Becoming a javelin thrower had proven educational: “It’s funny, me and my dad, we wrote a book about our journey through that process” — Can I Throw That Thing? available on Amazon. “It was interesting to go through that because it’s a perspective from a parent and a perspective of a child going through the same situation, and I was able to see how my dad went through that and realize that’s not how I went through it. When I stepped into the javelin, we had no idea what it was all about. We did a lot of YouTube videos, we went to some clinics.”
At Mississippi State, Thompson stepped into the best situation possible, both for coaching and competitiveness. MSU assistant April Thomas was in the process of building “Jav U.” She guided Thompson to the NCAA title in ’16 as a soph and then in ’19 led the Bulldogs to a 1-2-3 sweep — Anderson Peters, Thompson and Tyriq Horsford.
Thompson credits Thomas with guiding him through college, but now he’s coached by Justyce Pollitt. Peters, however, is still around — just like in ’19, the Grenadian finished one spot ahead of Thompson in Tokyo with a throw of 286-8 (87.38) for silver.
It was pretty obvious in their college years that Peters would get to this level — he was consistently throwing long and won his ’19 title in an NCAA meet record 284-2 (86.62). He went on to fulfill that promise later that year with a World title and another in ’22.
Thompson was less certain. He was clearly a step behind Peters and has struggled through injuries in recent years. But after Tokyo, he looks more like a true peer. Did he ever think he’d level up with his old teammate?
“When Anderson got to Mississippi State, that was the year I had a slight injury that we had to rehab and navigate through. But when you’re training with people at a certain level, you either jump on board and join them at that level or you kind of get left behind. And I didn’t want to get left behind. I learned a lot training with Anderson and Tyriq and Nico [Quijera] and all of those guys that went to Mississippi State during my time. So, that’s kind of that culture that we built.
“So did I envision myself [leveling up]? Most definitely.”
